Friday, May 20, 2016

Top Five in Denver

As some of you might know, Mike and I spent last week in Denver.  I was there to attend a conference, and he tagged along because when you work from home, it doesn't matter if you're in a home office or a hotel room - haha.  We had a chance to do a bunch of exploring, and while I am by no means a Denver expert, I came up with five adventures that we really enjoyed and that I highly recommend to anyone looking to travel to the Centennial State!
1. Golf: Of course this had to be number one because it was the real reason I was there, but even if you're not a golfer, go find a friend who's a golfer and ride around with him/her.  We saw the most amazing views in all of Denver while we were golfing at Arrowhead Golf Club.  The course itself was well-maintained, and the staff was so friendly.  Now if you're really not into golf, Denver also has an awesome Top Golf location, and that's worth a trip, too!
2. Explore nature: Leaving Arrowhead Golf Course, we actually stumbled upon Red Rocks Amphitheater.  I had no idea that it was so close to the highway, and that made for an easy stop.  The views of Denver were fantastic, and going to a concert there is now definitely on my bucket list.  If you're looking for even more to do outdoors, I'd suggest the Denver Botanic Gardens or Dinosaur Ridge.
3. Eat: I was pretty impressed by the food in Denver.  I wasn't really sure what they were known for, but we had American, Mexican, and my favorite was D Bar.  They specialize in amazing desserts, but their dinner fare was also wonderful.  We went with just appetizers so that we had plenty of room for dessert!
4. Major League Sports: Denver has seven professional sports teams (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and rugby) including one for each of the big four (Rockies, Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche), so you know we had to visit a couple of those.  In one day, we toured Sports Authority Field at Mile High and went to a Rockies game at Coors Field.  Both were awesome experiences, and we even watched the Rockies's 1000th franchise home win!
5. Drink & Tour: Denver is all about the beer!  They have over 75 breweries in the area (see the complete guide here), but we only had time for one.  We chose to take the 20 minute drive over to Golden, Colorado to see the biggest one: Coors.  We went for the whole adventure: parked in the Coors parking lot, took the bus ride around the town of Golden, did the full self-guided audio tour of the brewery' and finished in the fresh beer tasting room where we were each given three 8-ounce samples of Coors beers.  Don't worry, if you're not a Coors Banquet or Coors Light fan, they also have Blue Moon, Colorado Native, George Killian's, as well as seasonal beers to try.  Did I mention that all of this (including the beer) was free?
Honorable Mention: So, those are my top five things to do in Denver, but if you're looking to take a little day trip (I highly suggest renting a car if you travel to Denver, the whole city is pretty spread out), then driving the hour and a half South to Colorado Springs is a great idea!  While we were there, we visited Garden of the Gods, The Manitou Incline (just looked at it this time, but add that one to the bucket list, too!), and toured the Olympic Training Center.
We had an awesome trip and can definitely see ourselves going back there in the future to explore other awesome attractions.  If you'd like to read even more about what we did and see all my reviews, check out my Colorado list on Yelp!

23 comments:

Ashley @ A Cute Angle said...

Such a beautiful part of our country! That dessert place is right up my ally! I'd love to see the Olympic Training Center. I'm obsessed with the Olympics.

Ashley
acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

Rebecca Jo said...

Denver is on my bucket list of places to go to. My brother goes there every year & just says its the best place in the world.
We have friends that just moved out there to so an even better reason to go out that way.

Emily said...

I cannot get over the views!! Denver (or anywhere in Colorado) was never on my bucket list of traveling until recently, and these pictures just confirm that I really want/need to go there!

Chesson | Magnolia+Main said...

Y'all squeezed in a lot of things in your trip out to Denver! I love that you took a tour of the Bronco's stadium (because NFL stadium tours are the best) and that you got a brewery tour in as well. My kind of vacation destinations :)

BLovedBoston said...

Glad you guys were able to squeeze in some fun on your work trip! My sister was out there for work last week and didn't do anything fun like you LOL! Oh my gosh that dessert plate looked amazing!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

Ashley Lillis said...

This post has such perfect timing! We're headed to Denver in July and I still didn't really know what we were going to do while we were there. I knew that we could maybe hike or see a Rockies game, but this gives me so many more ideas! Thanks so much!

Nikki @ makeupHER said...

What a fun trip! I only flew into Denver a few years back, but stayed in Colorado Springs with my cousin. I loved Garden of the Gods, so pretty!! I wanted to do some hiking, but it was January and still pretty chilly! That food looks amazing!!

Lauren Honeycutt said...

This is a fantastic post! I'm hopefully going to Denver later this year, so I'll definitely use this as a guide!

Jenn said...

It looks like you sampled the best of what Denver had to offer! So much fun! :)

Unknown said...

how cool! the hiking and food looks awesome! thanks for sharing :D

Julie said...

Sooo glad you got to visit a few of my favorites - now you can see why we call it our second home :)

MO is also getting a Top Golf soon, so the rumor has it :)

Kate at Green Fashionista said...

How gorgeous are these pics?! Isn't it awesome when you can turn a work trip into a vacation? Top Golf, a Rockies game, and Coors brewery are on our list for our visit next month <3
Green Fashionista

Macy V said...

It looks like y'all had the best time and such perfect weather! We're going back to Denver with Dave's family in March and I really hope we can see some breweries! We went to 2 last time, so this time it would be great to get at least 5 more off the list ;) Garden of the Gods was so beautiful!

Missy said...

Awesome pics! I love Denver. Looks like you had a great time!

Jen said...

I've only been to the airport in Denver but I would love to explore it more.

The Lowcountry Mama said...

Wow you did so much! I'd love to visit one day the scenery looks amazing.

Farrah said...

Ahh, Colorado is definitely on my travel bucket list! I'd be all over #2 and #3 (and touring the Olympic Training Center)!!! *-*

Emily @ Martinis | Bikinis said...

We go to Denver next weekend so this came at the perfect timing! We bought tickets for a baseball game but I haven't had time to plan anything else. The brewery tour and red rocks amphitheater both sound like must visit places.

Unknown said...

This looks like such an awesome trip, I loved following along on snapchat! Pinning this for later in case we're able to get out to Denver!

Erin, Attention to Darling
www.attentiontodarling.com

Living Life With Joy said...

I'm so glad you had a wonderful time in Denver. One of my dreams to accomplish in my lifetime is to see a baseball game in every Major League stadium.

Amy @ http://befilledwithj0y.blogspot.com/

Ryan @apolishedpalate said...

Looks like you had an enjoyable trip! I've been to Denver once for work, but would love to go back and explore!

Unknown said...

I'm getting the travel bug just reading this! Well done!

Lisa C said...

If you need a reason to come back, the Olympic Museum in the Springs opens in 2018!

Post a Comment

 
Design Poppiness Designs